Their Journey Together
by Tempermental18
Summary: Draco had taunted and insulted Hermione on every occasion that saw the two people together in the six years they had spent together in Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. So how come these two people who shared such a bitter past get ready to marry each other and that too by their own choice/? Why through a path of redemption and understanding of course. Read More...
1. Prologe

It was a moonlit Saturday night that found Hermione Granger sitting on her bed, busy in her thoughts and not paying attention to the numerous books that were lying on her bed . It was difficult to believe that the scene was not a figment of somebody's imagination but the truth of the night. No one had ever seen her ignoring her books , they were her life, but nobody had ever seen her the night before her wedding either. Yes, Hermione was going to be married the next morning and that too to a certain Draco Malfoy, who had spent several years making Hermione's life miserable. Draco had taunted and insulted Hermione on every occasion that saw the two people together in the six years they had spent together in Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardy. So how come these two people who shared such a bitter past get ready to marry each other and that too by their own choice/? Why through a path of redemption and understanding of course. It was a long and tiresome journey but these two made it.(As a matter of fact, it would have been impossible to even think that a task which had the top two persons of the Wizarding community responsible would remain hanging). So how was this journey that Draco and Hermione took together? Continue to read this fan fiction and you will find out.


	2. The Thankful Fiancee

Hermione Granger sat on her bed, taking in everything in her bedroom, from the Lavender coloured wallpaper to the Cedarwood bookcase that stood near the window to the Floral printed curtains that hung from the windows overlooking the front lawn of the house. This was probably the last time she was looking at these things, because tomorrow morning she will leave this house to go to the Pinewood Park and from there she will go to Draco's house and after a few weeks her parents will move back to France, selling this house. Hermione was sad to hear that she will no longer be able to call this house her home but she didn't want to stop her parents from fulfilling their wishes, they had already sacrificed a lot for her . Draco, bless him, had wanted to buy the house but she couldn't let him do that, he already had a lot to deal (he had a home loan to pay)with, and didn't have that much money to spare. She was extremely proud of him for offering to do so. He had changed a lot and she was happy about each and every change in him. He was a new person and she knew that she wouldn't have anybody else as her life partner. She felt as if she had been blessed by having Draco in her life. Hermione had never been one to dream about price charmings and fairy-tale weddings, her dreams mainly consisted of academic brilliance and promising career opportunities. Marriage and family came after that. That is why she was extremely grateful to her stars for guiding her towards Draco. Now she had everything a girl wants in her life, a perfect life partner, a home (that had a picket fence!) and a dog . She was content with her life . She was in a happy place in her life. She didn't have any complaints or any unfulfilled wishes except - well, she missed her friends. They had stopped talking to her since they came to know about her relationship with Draco. Draco had tried to fix this though, being the dear he is, but Harry and Ginny had not listened to him and Ron- no! She was not going to think about Ron. She didn't miss him , probably because she didn't count him as her friend anymore. He had proven that he was not worthy of her friendship too many times to be counted as a friend. In that context, Harry and Ginny were not worthy of being called her friends but she didn't want to be friendless and it was a fact that Harry and Ginny were her only friends (not counting Luna, but ever since Luna had started on her trip around the world, looking for magical creatures, contacting her had been a little bit of a challenge ) so she couldn't lose them. Therefore, she ignored their faults. She had left the Wizarding world after the war, so she didn't have any kind of connection with her other classmates (not that she could just sit next to them and start talking about everything in the world). She had been depressed at that point of her life, it took tremendous amount of time and effort from Draco's side to make her normal . Hermione had always found it strange that Draco was able to do what books (which in her opinion , held the remedy for any problem humans came across) were unable to do . She admitted, embarrassingly, how she had gone to the local library and had brought home a few books on depression and how they had failed to help her. Draco had come into her life as an old enemy changed into a friend and had helped her overcome her depression. He had also helped her in earning forgiveness from her parents who were extremely mad at her when they had learnt about her modifying their memory. Ever since she had met Malfoy after the war, she had found him beside her in each and every stage of her life and she was thankful for that.


	3. Tearful Parents

Mr Granger was sitting in his living room, the worried look that is usually seen on fathers before their children's wedding, missing from his face He looked quite relaxed as he sat there, a book in his hand. Suddenly a hand came from behind him, taking the book from his hands . He turned around to find his wife , a somewhat amused look on her face.

"You and your daughter, I really don't get what you see in books to spend all of your time around them."-said she.

"Are you complain that I don't give you enough time, love?"-replied Mr Granger.

"We are too old for these kind of complaints. "- she said, a little bit of a blush creeping up her cheeks. "What I meant was, your daughter is getting married tomorrow and you are sitting here with a book, not a care in the world ."

"One- I don't think that you are old for some romance "- At this she blushed to the roots of her hair. He paused for a moment, taking in the scene and continued , "Two- our daughter has chosen the perfect guy to marry and as most fathers are worried about their daughter's choice, I don't see any reason to worry."

" Draco really is a great choice for Herm, I have no complaints about that but I am kind of worried, I know Draco loves her a lot but I wonder if he will be alright with Herm's obsession with books."-said Mrs. Granger thoughtfully.

"Now now, give the guy his due credit, he has always accepted Herm's ways . Don't you forget he is the one who supported Herm the most with her decision to become a writer. "

" Do I always scream at you for reading books all the time? No. Nor will he but he will feel bad and I don't want Herm's relationship to suffer because of that"

"Has our relationship suffered because of that? If not then why will Herm's ? Don't worry dear, Draco will keep our princess very very happy . Stop being paranoid. "

Mrs. Granger's shoulders slumped, teary eyed , she sat on the arm of the armchair her husband was occupying- " I just can't believe that our little girl will leave us. That she won't be our little girl anymore"

" She will always be our princess, our little girl. She will just leave in a separate home. It will be like the times when she had been away to her school. Don't cry dear, if you continue to cry , then I won't be able to resist the temptation to cry either. "- said Mr. Granger, rubbing his wife's back, she was crying hard at the moment.

" Who told you not to cry? Cry , cry today, because tomorrow morning we will say our goodbyes without tears so that she can start the next chapter of her life freely."-replied his wife in between her sobs.

A few minutes later, Hermione Granger found her parents crying, with their arms wrapped around each other .


	4. The Last Dinner At The House

Hermione was laying the dishes on the table , her thoughts still wandering around her would-be husband when her mother called out to her.

"Herm could you come receive the telephone? It is from one of your friends from school ."

To say that Hermione was surprised would be an understatement . While she walked to the telephone, she started crossing off names of her schoolmates in her mind. Most of them did not have her number and even the ones who had ( Harry and Ginny ) were unlikely to call her and that is why she picked up the phone a little wearily.

"Hello, who is this?"

"Hermione ? Hey listen, Draco dropped by and he told me that you two were getting married tomorrow and you will be happy to see me there. So is it true? Will you really like your ex-bestfriend to be present on your big day?"- the voice on the other side had an eagerness in them.

"Ginny, I would love to have you here. All though I have already asked Julliana to be my bridesmaid. "-Hermione hoped that her answer was friendly enough, she really wanted Ginny to come.

"Great! I shall be there. Umm.. Hermione, who else will be there? "- Hermione thought that Ginny seemed a little worried.

"My parents, some cousins, neighbours and some of Draco's colleagues. Can't say if he has invited anyone else though. I didn't even know that he had invited you"

"Harry won't be there right?"- This time Hermione was sure that Ginny sounded worried (which was no surprise if what she had heard few weeks ago were true).

"No Ginny, he won't be there. I have heard of that incident concerning you and Harry and I won't have him at my wedding if you will be there"-she replied.

A sigh came from the other end and then came Ginny's voice. It shook a bit, making it obvious that Ginny was crying.

"What happened between us is known to all , huh? Figures, it was between me and the 'Boy Who Lived'. Must have made the headlines in the Daily Prophet. I guess they had even dedicated an entire page for that? People! You were lucky you had not been in touch with the Wizarding community, Hermione or you would have felt disgusted. It changed me . All those lines in the papers, all those horrible comments, those crude remarks, all of that changed me and I had no one for support. You are very lucky Hermione, very lucky to have Draco, everyone's not that lucky."-with that Ginny hung up, leaving Hermione teary eyed. She still had tears in her eyes when she dialed Draco's number.  
As usual Draco picked up on the first ring.  
"Hey Herm, what made you call me?"- came his drawling voice from the other side.  
"Ginny had just called me."

"How did it go?"

"Fine. She seemed miserable, Draco."

"I thought so too . That is why I thought about inviting her. Thought she might be in need of a friend. You didn't mind, right?"

"How could I? By the way, why did you go to her?"

"I had found some Galleons inside an old trunk, so I went to the Shell Cottage to give them to Bill for exchange. He is the new officer in charge of money exchange, you know that don't you? Never mind , when I saw Ginny I felt bad for her and I knew you missed her, so I invited her and gave her your number."

"Ginny is living in the Shell Cottage? Why is not she living in the Burrow? "

" Bill told me that the Weasly family had a tough time staying together , with everything that has happened with Percy. "

" I can't believe it. Never mind, I just called you to thank you for inviting Ginny. Good night!"

"Good night Herm."

Hermione put down the phone and went off to the dining room . Her mother was tossing the salad. When she saw Hermione, she invited her to help her with dinner.

"Who was it? "- asked her mother, noticing the sadness on her face.

"Ginny. She sounded unhappy and then Draco told me about the Weasly family living apart , it is not easy , hearing about their state. There was a time I thought of them as family."

"Don't you still think of them as family? "

"I...I can't. Not after what they said about you and dad, and I can't forget what they did to Draco. "

" Both your father and I had forgiven them a long time ago and Draco has gotten over it too . It is you who can't forgive them. It is your choice."

"Is it really? No it is not. "

"Get your head out of the books and come into the real world . Things are simple . Don't complicate things that are supposed to be simple. "

"You two forgave them and Draco got over all that too but I couldn't. I didn't expect this from them . They have disappointed me."

"Everyone has faults. No-one is faultless, that does not mean that they are horrible people. "

"I was proud of them, I can't accept this."

"Herm..." The phone had started to ring . Hermione went off to pick it up.

"Hello? "

"Forgive them like you had forgiven me."

"Draco! "

"Good night Herm . "He had cut the call. Hermione put down the phone and went off to the dining room, thinking back to those days after the war had been over and how she had discovered this jewel of a person named Draco Malfoy.


	5. The Aftermath 1- Lost

Bang! The door of the bedroom Hermione and Ginny shared slammed  
shut .Hot, angry tears falling from her eyes, Hermione jumped on her bed and hid her face in her pillow. A few moments ago she was downstairs, having dinner with the Weasly family and Harry when Mr. Weasly came home from the ministry and informed her that the ministry still didn't have any idea where her parents were. She had excused herself from the table and had run upstairs. The news was too much for her to handle. Ever since the war ended she has Been searching for her parents. At first , she had apparated to Australia and had tried to find her parents only to learn that they had left that country. She had come to the Burrow in a horrible state and had informed everyone that her parents were missing. Mr. Weasly had told her that it wouldn't be a hard task for the ministry and Ron had told her that the ministry will probably make it top priority to find her parents after all she did in the war. She had calmed down and had gone to bed peacefully hoping that the ministry would have better luck in finding her parents than she did. Weeks had passed and there was no news for her. She had been utterly disappointed with the ministry's capability to find someone. She had started to think that they weren't putting much effort in finding them because they were muggles. She had become temperamental and had lost all of her interests . Even books had lost their charm. It was like she wasn't Hermione Granger, it was like she was a different person altogether. She felt horrible, soulless and empty , in one word , she felt- lost, just lost. She was really distressed, she kept thinking of her life . Each and every important moment had been associated with her parents. She kind of wished she had modified her own memory too . She couldn't bear it anymore. It was just too much for her and to top it all, her relationship with Ron had been suffering for a while. She had been feeling guilty of her behaviour, but she couldn't help herself, her parents had always been a big part of her life, even if she had never said much about them, therefore, Ron wasn't given as much attention as he wanted. That was a big problem for Hermione. She had recently found out that Ron wanted too much attention, nobody could be given the same amount of attention, he wouldn't accept it . Hermione knew why he acted like that, he had always been overlooked, nobody had paid much attention to him , giving more attention to his brothers and Ginny. Later on , it had been Harry who had overshadowed Ron. Ron had siblings who stood out from the crowd, which resulted in him being overlooked - Bill and Percy were noticeable because of their academic achievements, Charlie had his own share, being excellent in sports, Fred and George had always been popular, for their mischievous behaviour and cheerful nature, even Ginny , being an only girl among all those brothers, got more attention from their parents and her impressive personality had got appreciation from many and Ron had always been regarded as Harry Potter's sidekick. Hermione had thought that after the war , Ron would get his long due appreciation from people, that had not been the case. People had as usual, talked about Harry , they had even talked about the death eaters , Daily Prophet had even dedicated an entire issue on them. There had been discussions about the Malfoys, how they had abandoned Voldemort's side at the last moment, how Draco Malfoy had gone missing (Hermione had been scanning the paper for news of her parents when she had learnt about it) and all that but there had not been anything concerning either Ron or Hermione. She didn't have any problem with that but Ron...Ron had been unable to handle it. He had been moody all the time and at that time, it had been hard for her to handle him . The result- constant fighting and arguing with each other. Ginny and Harry had a little bit of trouble too. Ginny had been rather upset with Harry because of an article in Daily Prophet.

It had been about the war and it had completely bypassed everybody except Harry. It had only mentioned Harry. Other people such as Ron, Hermione, Ginny although Ginny was not mad about that , she was mad because it had not mentioned Nevile and how he had beheaded Nagini. It had not paid much attention to the numerous people who had been at Hogwarts, such as Lupin, Tonks , in fact, it had not mentioned any of those things people except Kingsley ( it had been hard for the people at the Prophet to not mention the current Minister of Magic and his contribution in the war.) and that had bothered Ginny a lot. She had asked Harry to talk to the Prophet but Harry had declined to do so, saying that he didn't want to use his position. That had angered Ginny and she had stopped talking to him. Hermione had gone to Harry to fix this problem.

"Don't you think that Ginny had a point? You do. If you do think that then why didn't you say so?"

Harry had heaved a sigh and said- "Hermione, I felt bad too but I couldn't use my position. I didn't want to take advantage of being Harry Potter."

"Still, if you had done something , Ginny wouldn't be this mad"

"Ginny wants me to use my position. I get it, it is something she is used to but I don't like it . You know Hermione that I have never said that I was great or anything, nor have I ever taken advantage of me being 'the boy who lived' , it isn't me and I can't change myself for her . Not to this extent. "

"I understand that, but one has to change for their significant other. "

"I can't Hermione. If I lose Ginny for that, then so be it."

"Why are you so adamant Harry? You just don't understand and why did you say that if you lose Ginny, then so be it? Don't you love her?"

"I love her and I get it that one has to compromise in a relationship , but it is not an one-sided thing, if Ginny can't compromise, then why should I? "

"Harry, don't act like a baby-"

" If Ginny can act like a baby , then why can't I? Leave it Hermione , leave it to fate. What is supposed to happen in the future, will happen, there is no stopping it."

"Still, you should do something about it, if you don't do anything then nothing will happen on its own. Everything can't be left to fate..."

"Hermione, fate is fate. Fate is ultimate. You can't compete with fate . Fate will win . There is no use of fighting with fate. It is useless. "

"Harry..."

"Hermione , drop this. It is a waste of time and just because the war is over, it doesn't mean that we have this much time to waste, so drop it OK? "

"Harry, I am dropping it but remember, if you lose Ginny this time, you won't get her back. The war has changed the dynamics of every relationship, this time , you will lose her forever. "

"I get it Hermione , I get it but to tell you the truth, I really don't care anymore, I just don't. Enough of our relationship, tell me , what is going on between you and Ron?"

"Ron is being Ron and I am being me, you get what is going on, don't you?"

"Ron and Ginny are quite alike, you know ? They want things to go their way and can't handle it if things don't . I don't understand how Ginny can be like that? I mean to say that she is quite intelligent, isn't she?"

"That doesn't mean that she can't have drawbacks, even I have some."

"You and drawbacks? Unbelievable. Name one. "

"I hold grudges for a long time , I really do. I still have this drawback and let us not forget about me being unable to stay silent and stop acting like a know-it-all. "

"These are minor things to deal with. Tell me about something serious."

"I am insecure, I am . I feel insecure if I see someone who is more intelligent or if I see someone who knows more than me ,I feel nobody will need me . I can't show my affection and my biggest drawback is that I prefer books over people."

"Wow, seems like you have made a list and have memorised it. Don't worry, if you and Ron don't work out then it will mean that there is someone better for you"

"You know Hermione, I have been thinking , relationships don't depend on love, they depend on understanding , so why don't you and I get together? Think about it."

Harry had left after that , leaving Hermione feeling lost. She had no idea that her relationships will change like this.

At present, the lost feeling was still there and Hermione felt that she had no way of getting out of this maze life had put her into.  
She was lost, totally lost.


	6. The Aftermath 2- Broken

Hermione loved to read . She had read all kinds of books when she was young and she remembered some special lines from those books. She didn't remember where she read that relationships were like glass, but sitting in the backyard of the Burrow , thinking of that line, she felt that line had said everything about relationships. Indeed, relationships were as delicate as glass and when they broke they were as ugly as broken glass. They even had the same amount of power to inflict same amount of pain as that of shards of glass. A few moments ago Hermione had gotten proof of those lines . She had expirienced an ugly fight with Ron and it had resulted in their break-up. She had gone downstairs to have her breakfast and things had taken a nasty turn . She remembered everything that happened in there.

"Hermione are you alright.? "- asked Harry  
" Yes Harry I am fine . Why did you ask?"-replied Hermione  
"Ron told a hilarious joke and you weren't laughing so I wondered if you were alright"-said Harry.  
"Ignore her Harry . She wasn't listening to us ." said Ron.  
"Ron! My parents are missing. Forgive me for not laughing my head off at some stupid joke you told."-replied Hermione, her voice dripping with sarcasm.  
"Everything doesn't have to be about your parents Hermione! There are other people in this world and they are far more important. "- Ron replied angrily.  
"Other important people? What do you mean Ron?"- bellowed Hermione .  
" Hermione, relax . Ron's just saying that you aren't paying much attention to him."- Harry tried to calm her down.  
" I never expected you to side with Ron on this matter Harry. Ron , if you feel unattended then you can say that too me . I promise not to eat you up."- Hermione was losing her cool. How dare Ron complain that she was giving undue importance to her parents? It was her fault ,choosing him as her boyfriend. She was just glad that she got to see this side of him before tying her knot with him.

"Hermione , calm down. I know how you are feeling, trust me , I do. I also know that you can't live in the past. Life goes on Hermione. "

"Harry James Potter, keep you life lessons to yourself, I don't need them and also stop supporting him all the time. Be a man!"- with that Hermione had stormed out of the kitchen,leaving half of her breakfast unattended .

"Hermione, "- a gentle voice came from behind her, bringing her out of the trance. Hermione turned around to find Ginny standing behind her, holding Hermione's unfinished breakfast in her hands.

"Can I sit here?"- she asked, pointing to the patch of grass beside her. Upon getting Hermione's consent, she sat down and placed the plate on Hermione's lap.- "I thought of bringing you your breakfast, seeing there is no point in staying hungry because of the boys"

"Thanks Ginny, you really are a true friend . I wasn't staying hungry because of them, I had just forgotten about it."

Ginny raised an eyebrow, then sighed. - " You forgot? Well... having a nasty fight does that to you. I had forgotten to shampoo after I had had that fight with Harry. You can tell how upset I had been, seeing I have this facsination of shampooing my hair but to Harry, it had not meant a thing, probably because he had never noticed this fascination of mine."

" You two are still fighting then? Why do you fight with him Ginny if it upsets you to this extent? "

"Why do I fight with him? Hermione, he fights with me . I never thought you will side with him. "- exclaimed Ginny , standing up, tears glistening in her eyes. " Enjoy your breakfast Hermione. " - she added before storming back inside , leaving Hermione with another example of the truth fullness of the precious mentioned line and to wonder how the dynamics of every relationship had changed after the war . How every relationship, in one aspect, was broken.


	7. Aftermath 3 - A Ray of Hope?

Hermione had been a daddy's girl all her life , never following her mother's footsteps, never ever. However, ever since the war had ended she had started to think that maybe her mother was not the optimistic fool she had thought her to be and as Hermione sat in the backyard of the Burrow, thinking of her conversation with Ginny , she dearly hoped that everything will turn out fine and that she will get her friends back . She had always been rather shy and it had resulted in her having very few friends. ( Not to mention her sarcastic and critical personality, or her habit of telling people everything about ... well. ... about everything. ) Hermione had known from the moment she had made friends with Harry and Ron that she would not be able to handle losing their friendship, she had known how distraught she will be if she lost their friendship forever but she had been greedy. She had not thought of the consequences of her action, she had just gone with the flow. Oh , how wrong she had been then , she had been a complete fool at that time, thinking that she had a right to be a normal girl , a girl who had friends, who dreamt of Prince -charmings and picket fences and dogs . She had forgotten that although she was named Hermione Jean Granger, she had taken after her Father, Paul Henry Granger and she had become a sarcastic, critical ,know-it-all bookworm who was insufferable for the people around her. She had always felt grateful towards Snape for giving her a reminder in her third year , even if it had come with a dose of his usual bitter , Gryffindor- hating personality. Although she had not given much thought to it at that time , she had continued on her path to self-destruction. Nonetheless, Hermione knew that she should be grateful towards him , her parents had taught her that much . She wished that she had done something or had shown him the little bit of gratitude she felt but due to Ron and Harry's immense hatred towards the man , she had been unable to do so. Speaking of their hatred for Snape , Harry had been utterly disappointed with himself  
for not believing Dumbledore , no matter how many times he had vouched for Snape . Harry had always denied that Snape didn't want to harm him or that Snape tried to protect him . Nothing had been able to convince him otherwise. That was until he had seen Snape at the Shrieking Shack, laying on the dusty wooden floor , grasping at the wound in his neck , trying fruitlessly to stop the flow of blood pouring out of it. Harry had surprised her that day , when he had gone to sit beside the dying man , before he had taken Snape's memories ( that he had put in a flask that she had conjured) and gone to Dumbledore's study to look through them. There had not been any major change in his behaviour but Hermione had had a suspicion that something had changed after his visit of those memories , there on his body-language she had seen cracks . Finally, Harry had cracked completely one day when Ron had insulted Snape . Ginny had been telling Ron that she had finalised the names of their future children .

"Ron ! Listen to me , I have finalised the names of mine and Harry's future children - the boy will be named James Sirius Potter and the girl will be named Lily Luna Potter."

"These are great names Ginn, but what if you two have a second son ? What will you name him?"- Ron had said .

"Well ... I am sure we will ... we will think ...think of something , won't we Harry ?" - Ginny had asked.

Harry had been staring at the ceiling ever since they had started talking , clearly his mind was elsewhere. However at Ginny's question, he had answered instantly. - " Albus Severus Potter "

It had been such a shock for Hermione and Ginny that they had been unable to say anything but Ron being Ron had recovered quite quickly and had put forth the question they had all wanted to ask .- " Harry, have you gone mental ? you want to name him after that guy ? Blimely mate , have you completely forgotten about all the other people ..." -

Ron had been unable to finish his statement as Harry's fist had collided painfully with his jaw . He had been thrown on the floor because of the impact and had stayed there , laying flat on his back (as his effort of getting up had met with another punch from Harry ) as he had looked at Harry with a questioning gaze , looking for an answer . He didn't have to wait though , as Harry had began to yell right after throwing his second punch - " Don't you dare question me on planning to name my son after him , I won't let you go away with it and as to why I would do that , it is the least I can do to honour him and thank him for what he had done for me , for how much he had sacrificed for me , to protect me and listening to my accusations . Understood ?" - He stopped for a minute and then took up the shouting again. - " What did you mean by other people? Were you thinking about yourself? Well , newsflash Ron , you will never have that honour . You are my best friend and I love you but it does not mean that you are worthy of that honour , No ! - He calmed down a little and his voice came down to normal level . He continued talking in that voice - "Severus Snape was and always will be the bravest man amongst those who I have met . To think of how much I have insulted him all these years, no doubt he had been hurt , yes , he had been hurt , hurt , hurt , hurt..." - He had fainted after that. Mrs. Weasly had said that it was due to excessive mental stress that Harry had . Hearing that Hermione and Ginny had left him alone but Ron had always been surrounded with all his brothers and he knew nothing about personal space or the basic concept of leaving a person alone , therefore, he had confronted Harry and it had resulted in a horrible fight between the two boys. Apparently, Harry had no intention of discussing that particular topic and he had told Ron about it . Sadly Ron had not gotten that and had continued to badger Harry about Snape ( which in Hermione's opinion, was quite a stupid thing to do, Harry was heaps better than both her and Ron when it came to hexes ) , the outcome was that he had been thrown out of the room with an awfully powerful stunning spell and had crashed into the wall opposite the room , coughing up slugs . Harry had not talked to Ron since then , he had not even looked at Ron at mealtimes ( where he had appeared in a foul mood ) . Hermione had stayed out of this and Ginny had followed suit. Both of them knew that it was better for their own good , they did not want to crash into a wall and cough up slugs for the rest of the day , did they ? Ron , as expected, had gone to Harry to talk to him , not paying heed to either of the girls and had faced the consequences ( Harry had left him tap dancing in the backyard and had sent a storm cloud out there) . He had been later rescued by George and to their utter disappointment, Ginny and Hermione had learnt that he still had not gotten Harry's message. They had tried though, they had told him again and again about how he had to give Harry a little bit of time but to no avail. He had listened to them , sipping the hot tea his sister-in-law had prepared ( Mrs . Weasly had been busy with making enough potions to last both Ron and George, as George had gotten quite wet during the process of rescuing Ron ) but at last, he had shaken his head and had told them that they had no idea of dealing with Harry and had insisted that confronting him was the best option. Frustrated with his stubbornness, Hermione had turned to the person who she though had better chance getting the message in Ron's thick skull - Fleaur Billius Weasly , Ron's pretty , silvery blonde haired, part- Veela sister-in-law. Ron had always been fascinated by her , so Hermione thought that she would have better luck in convincing him . To Nobody's surprise, Fleur had succeeded in doing just that. Hermione could not deny being jealous of her for that then , it was normal to be jealous, as it was supposed to be Hermione who had the ability to convince him .

That had been three days ago , before the day of Ron and Hermione's fight and two days after Harry and Ginny's fight ( the discussion containing names of future children had been held two days before the day of the storm cloud incident ) . Today had turned out to be the day of Hermione and Ginny's fight . In six days , the four had come from being the best of friends to a point where they would rather talk with the gnomes instead of each other ( Hermione had avoided Harry's company ever since their last meeting ) . It was a little bit too much for Hermione's liking , who had enough trouble on her plate already and was in dire need of her friends.

It was that said dire need that had compelled Hermione to go and visit Luna and seventeen minutes later had found her staring at the cluster of weird looking bushes that stood guarding the Lovegood home , which at the moment looked like the only ray of hope amongst the pitch black state of mind she was in .


End file.
